Food Processing and Engineering

Food Processing and Engineering is a wide-ranging field that applies engineering, chemistry, nanotechnology, environmental sciences, and microbiology principles through food processing operations to produce safe, nutritious, sustainable, and value-added products. Our faculty’s incredibly varied research in this area includes everything from converting food waste into usable and economically viable products to designing innovative new food packaging to extend product shelf life and quality.

Disciplines

Food Safety and Preservation

Extension

Food Chemistry

Icon with microscope, apple, wheat, and string bean

Engineering

Food Processing and Packaging

Food Business

Featured Project

Powered by food (waste): Virginia Tech researchers discover potential method to convert food waste into batteries

More About this Research

Haibo Huang received a $450,000 grant from the USDA to research using agricultural waste like spent grain and apple cores to create sustainable rechargeable batteries in the hopes of alleviating the massive environmental impact that comes with modern society’s use of such batteries.

Faculty

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Alexis M. Hamilton , bio
Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor: Food Processing Microbiology
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Brett Driver , bio
Research Associate
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Haibo Huang , bio
Associate Professor: Food Processing, Fermentation Engineering, Process Simulation and Economic Analysis
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Joseph Eifert , bio
Interim Department Head and Professor: Food Safety, Poultry Processing, HACCP and Risk Assessment, Food Laws and Regulations, Food Safety Education
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Melissa Wright , bio
Extension Specialist and Director, Food Producer Technical Assistance Network
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Yifan Cheng , bio
Assistant Professor: Food Packaging, Food Process Engineering, Food Safety, Antimicrobial Nanostructures for Food Contact Surfaces, Intelligent Packaging